Winding spool



Patented July 3, 1923.

l A if;

WILLIAM R. MARSHALL, or n'oLYoKn, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNQE ro grin stream COMPANY, or HOLYOKE, rinssncnusnrrs, A conrofanrroi or nnw YORK.

WINDING sroon v Applicationfiled August 9, 1921. seriaino. 490,948.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. MAR- SHALL, citizen of the United States, residing at Holyoke, in the county of-Hampden' and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in lVinding Spools, of which the followingis a specification. 1

The present invention relates to winding spools or reels and more particularly toa spool or reel which is adapted for use in a winding machine for holdinga coil of wire While it is being wound, and which is adapts ed to permit the coil, in its completed form to be bodily removed from the spool. T he spool herein. illustrated is furthermore so constructed and arranged that, before the coil is removed, the turns of wire may be tied together in several places by cross strands of binding material to form a package suitable for shipment.

Coils of wire, tied as'above described, are

sold to manufacturers who employ them for supplying wire to machines in which it is used in the manufacture of various articles.

It is customary to produce such coilsyby Winding a continuous strand of wire upon a core of slightly conical or tapering core in order that the coil, after being wound, may

be bodily removed from the small end of the core with facility- Thecoils are of substantial width, however, and when wound upon a tapering core, the coil'itself is of slightly conicalform, i. e., one end of the coil is of somewhat greater diameter than the opposite end. jectionable since in unwinding the wire therefrom, the turns of wire adjacent the large end of the coil tend to fall down and overlap the strand which is being unwound and thus are liable to becometangled therewith so as'to interfere with the delivery of the wire.

It is also customary to wind wire upon solid wooden spools having cylindrical cores. In this way so called level coils, or coils of true cylindricalshape may be produced, but the coils cannot be removed from the solid spools without being unwound and therefore it is necessary to sell the spools with the coils; a

One object of' the present invention is to providean improved winding spool or reel Tapering coils are obmay be bodily removed with facility after being completed. a 1

To the accomplishment of the above ob ject and such others as may hereinafter ap pear, the invention consists in thefeatures of construction and the combinations-and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will. be obvious to those skilled in the art.

The invention will be readily understood" from the following description, reference bev ing had to the accompanyingdrawings illustrating the preferred embodiment thereof.

' In the drawings I i Fig. l is a longitudinal, sectional view of a winding spool, constructed in accord-" ance with the present invention, the spool being-secured in position upon the'winding arbor of a winding machine;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken line 2-2 of Fig. 1; v

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of'the winding spool shown in Fig. 1, one of the spool headsbeing detached from the core;

Fig. 4. is a View, in side elevation'and on on the a reduced scale, of the winding spoolshow' ing one of the spool heads detachedfand the core collapsed preparatory to removingfa' coil of wire-therefrom; and e s Fig. 5 isa perspective view of coil of- Wire ready for shipment. f 1 As shown in the drawings, the improved winding spool or reel comprises a hollow cylindrical core or central portion '6, and i e0 the spool heads or flanges "2' and 8 which constitute the opposite ends of the spool, .the

spool head 8 being detachable from the core to permit the removal of the coil from the spool. To further facilitate the removal of Coil, he core 6 is adapted to collapse I, from the cylindrical form shown in Fig. v1

to the slightly taperingform shown in Fig.

4. To thisend, the core 6 is composed of it a plurality of separate longitudinal secv tions 9 which are severally pivoted adjacent one end, tothe spool head'7. In the'present instance the core is composed of 'three sec 1 tions although the invention is entirely independent of the number of core sectionsv employed. i

The spoolhead 7 consists-of from. As best shown in Fig. 8, the hub 10 projections ll 'which are apertured, as in i 'is conveniently formed with, three radial 1 a disk having a hub 10 extending outwardly there-r dicated at 12, to receive the ends of the core sections 9, and the latter are mounted upon transverse pivot pins 13, the opposite extremities of which are fixedly secured in the radial hub projections 11. As shown, the pivoted ends of the core sections are considerably reduced in width to facilitate the pivotal mounting of the same in the manner described. The hub 10 is also centrally apertured to fit closely upon a winding arbor 14 which extends through the collapsible core 6 and through the detachable spool head 8.

The detachable spool head 8 consists of dislr having a slightly tapered hub 15 which is apertured to fit the winding arbor ll and which is adapted to project between the adjacent ends of the core sections 9 to swing the latter apart sufficiently to maintain the sides of the core in parallel relation. to the winding arbor so that a cylindrical winding surface will be formed.

The component parts of the winding spool are held in assembled rc tion upon the winding arbor by means of a nut- 17 which is threaded upon the outer end of the arbor. The nut 17 binds the detachable spool head 8 against the adjacent end of the core and also rigidly secures the spool to the arbor by binding it ti tiy between the nut 17 and a collar 18 tlu. upon the arbor. lVhen the parts are thus assembled, the courses of ire succe sively wound upon the spool will be levei a! l consequently the coil will be perfectly cylindrical in shape.

After a coil has been wound upon the spool and before it is removed therefrom, the turns of wire in the coil are tied togetherby means of cross strands of wire or other binding material, so as to firmly hold the coil in shape during shipment. the present device provision is made whereby the binding strands may be applied to the coil before the coil is removed from the spool. To this end, the spool heads 7 and S are each provided with three radial slots 20 which extend from the peripheries of the spool heads nearly to the central apertures therein. The slots 20 in the spool head 7 are arranged in radial alineuient with the spaces between the core sections and said slots communicate with said spaces, as shown clearly in Fig The slots 20 in the spool head 8 are main tained in a similar relation to the spaces between the core sections by means of a dowel pin 22 in the spool head 8 which enters anotch 2 l in the adjacent end of one of the core sections. Before the spool head 8 is di bled from the rest of the spool, short stands of wire are inserted lon Q ally through the rear extremities of the ra d1 al slots 20 in one of the spool heads and these wire are projected through the pmes tween the core sections, as indicated 1 vor l i. The three core sections 9, then being unsupported by the hub of the spool head 8, will collapse slightly, as shown in e that the core will then be of some- The coil of wire may ily removed from the core.

To permit the above-described collapse of the core sections, a. slight clearance space is provided, as shown, between both the outer ant inner sides of the core sections and. the corresponding walls of the apertures 12 in the hub of the spool head 7. To insure that the collapse of the core will be efiective to quickly release the portion of the coil immediately adjacent the spool head 7, the pivot pins 13 are located a sifibstantia-l distance outside of the winding space between the spool heads. Conseouently as the core sections swing inwardly toward the winding l u arbor the y will move out of engagement with the inner periphery of the coil at the portions immediately adjacent the spool head 7, as well as throughout the rest of the width ofthe coil. The unpivoted ends of'core sections are adapted to fit into an annular groove in the inner face of the spool head 8, adjacent the exterior of the hub L5. \Vith this construction the outer wall of the groove 20 serves as a stop shoulder to limit the outward movement of the core sections 9. Furthermore, there is no danger of. the strands of *ire becoming wedged between the end of the core and the spool head 8 while the first courses of the coil are being WOUDQL After the removal of the coil from the spool, the core 6 may he again expanded so as to restore it to normal. cylindrical form ready for the winding thereon of another coil, by replacing the spool head 8 upon the winding arbor with its hub 15 projecting between the free ends of the core sections. and loclzi said spool head to the arbor and to the rest of the pool by means of the nut 17. it will be seen that the use of the present winding; spool insures that the courses of wire Si-.CC8S ely laid as a coil is built up will. be periect y level, and consequently that the coil, when completed, will beof a truecy-v lindrical shape. Thus, when the wire is unwound from the coil in the machine in which it is to be used, there is no danger of the strands of wire becoming tangled or the uniform feed of the wire being interfered with.

- of spools is eliminated.

While it is preferred to employ the specific arrangement ofparts shown and described, it will be understood that such construction and arrangement is not essential except so.

far as defined in the claims and maybe changed or modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is Claims:

l. A winding spool having in combination a pair of spool heads, a collapsible core comprising a plurality of longitudinal sections severally pivoted to one of the spool heads for swinging adjustment in axial planes to contract or expand the core, said core sections being severally constructed and relatively arranged when the core is expanded to provide an approximately continuous cylindrical winding surface upon which a coil may be wound in true cylindrical shape, one of said spool heads being detachable from the core to permit the coil to be bodily removed from the core when the core is collapsed, and means on the detachable spool head for limiting the expansion of the core.

2. A winding spool having, in combination, a pair of spool heads, a collapsible core comprising a plurality of sections severally pivoted to one of the spool heads, said core sections being constructed and adapted to be normally positioned in closely adjacent relation to provide an approximately continuous cylindrical winding surface upon which a coil may be wound in true cylindrical shape, one of said spool heads being detachable from the core and so constructed and arranged that when assembled therewith it will locate and lock the core sections in their normal positions and when detached therefrom it will permit the collapse of the core to facilitate the removal of the coil bodily therefrom.

3. A winding spool comprising a. member constituting one end of the spool, a core consisting of a plurality of separated longitudinal sections pivoted at one end to said member for swinging movements in axial planes, a second member adapted to be detachably secured to the core to constitute the other end of the spool, means on said second member for limiting the outward movements of the core sections to relatively position them so as to present a cylindrical winding surface and rigid means for supporting the sections of the core in engagement with said limiting means.

4. A winding spool. comprising a spool head centrally aperturedto receive a wind ing arbor, a collapsible core adapted to en-.

close the arbor and comprising a plurality, i

of separated, longitudinal. sections severally constructed and relatively arranged when expanded to provide a substantially continually pivotedto said spoolh'eadto adapt the sections for swingingmovements 'in axial planes to'collapse or'exp'and the core,"a second spool head centrally apertured toreceive the winding arbor and adapted to be detachably secured to thecore, a'hollowhub carried by the second spool-head having .a-

conical exterior adapted toiproject within the -core to spread apart the score sections and to support them during the winding operation in position to present a cylindrical winding surface, the spool heads adapt- -ed to be clamped between means on the winding arbor for the purpose of holding the parts of the spool in assembled relation with the core expanded and for securing the assembled spool to the arbor;

5. A winding spool having, in combination, a spool head, a collapsible core comprising a plurality of separated longitudinal,

sections severally pivoted at one end to said I head for swinging movements in axial planes, a second spool head adapted to be detachably secured to the core, the second spool head having an annular groove in-its inner face and a tapering hub upon its inner side, said groove being adapted to receive the free ends of the core sections to locate and maintain said sections in parallel relation with the axis of the spool and the exterior of the hub constituting the inner side wall of said groove and being adapted to be projected between the free ends of the core sections when the spool is being assembled to guide said ends into said groove.

6. A winding spool, having, in combina- I tion, a spool head, a hollow collapsible core comprising a plurality of longitudinal sections normally'sep'arated throughout their length by open spaces and severally pivotedatone end to said head for movements in" axial planes, a second spool head adapted to be detachably secured to the other ends of the core sections and to maintain the core' in expanded condition, the first spool head 7 having a plurality of radial slots extending from its periphery to points included within the peripheral plane of the expanded core and arranged to communicate with the spaces between the core sections and the sec- 0nd spool head having a similar series of slots therem, and cooperating means on the core-and the second spool head for locatingv said head radially with respect to the core to bring its slots also into communication with said spaces.

7 A winding spool comprising a collapsible core normally expanded to provide a cylindrical Winding surface, members associated With the core to constitute the opposite ends of the spool, one of said members being detachable from the core to permit a coil Wound upon the latter to be bodily removed therefrom When the core is collapsed and said detachable member having;- means for insuring'that said core will be expanded When said member and core are assembled, and means for preventing relative rotation of the core and said detachable member.

8. A Winding spool comprising a member constituting one end of the spool, a core consisting of a plurality of separated longitudinal sections pivoted at one end to said member for swinging movements in axial planes, a second member adapted to be detachably secured to. the core to constitute the other end of the spool, means on said second member for limiting the outward movements of the core sections to relatively position them so as to present a cylindrical Winding surface, meansrendered effective to expand said core by the act ofassembling said second member With said core, said means serving to support said core in expanded condition with the unpivoted ends of the core sections in engagement With said limiting means.

In testimony whereof I have atlixed my signature.

WILLIAM R. MARSHALL. 

